I stopped for some coffee so it caused me to take an alternate side street there I came across the images you see here below. The one image was so compelling that I stopped my car and parked it in order to take photos of what caused me to" turn aside " to stop and notice what seemed very unusual.
As you will see the images are based around a very large Florida Live Oak tree as well as what was around it. This very old live oak tree, was nestled right in the heart of the small local community and growing tall and strong near the highway. The Florida Live Oak had been compromised on a large section of it from its original purpose which was to be a safe haven for birds, squirrels and other animals.
Over time, the tree had subtly been attached by a strangler fig. For those unfamiliar to a strangle fig tree, this tree is a parasite tree...this parasite starts small by attaching itself to the host tree ( in this case a live oak) and over time slowly begins to dissipates the life of the host tree of life.
The goal of the Strangler Fig is to envelopes the host tree, so that it is no longer recognizable!
The irony is that when the strangle fig has done it's work, what will be left or evident to the natural eye appears to be another green healthy tree...when in reality... the host tree was swallowed up by the fig tree. The Strangler Fig existed only to steal and ultimately destroy the life of the host tree.
I had to ponder could the "strangler fig" be a symbol of what sin and compromise are like in our lives???? huh...sin and compromise begins so slowly it too can go virtually unnoticed for years?
Could we become like the poor host tree over taken by the strangler fig subtly decieved and overtaken finding ourselves NOTHING like we were intended to be?
As I was musing all of this suddenly along came a man, (seen here in the photo)...who appeared out of nowhere and began to talk "to" me... asking me if I knew about all the good the live oak does for everything around it. I thought I did know, however, instead of speaking I merely encouraged him to share what he knew. I marveled as I commented to this stranger how awesome it was that "someone" had seen fit to intervene to restore and reclaim this marvelous tree. When we finished I thanked him for his brief illumination on the subject of Live Oak trees.
Funny, I am also reminded that in God's word for those who love him are called "oaks of righteousness." While instead the counterfeit similar to the strangler fig , "Satan poses as an angel of light” comes with his real aim is to “deceive...steal ...kill and destroy."
This thought also prompted me to ask God ...if there were any areas in my own life the enemy had crept into
I asked the Lord....would he please do to me…what I noticed what the unseen gardener had done for this live oak... "intervene” and cut off any damage caused by sin, or subtle compromise...any area that I may have been unknowingly vulnerable to Satan's schemes...
The, I also asked if He would do the same thing for those, that were on my heart that morning.
a ha! I think that is the focus for the week... GRACE.....the joy of knowing a God who clearly is a God of redemption and restoration.
There is a God who wants to bring life to any area where the enemy has attempted to kill, steal or destroy.
God wants to unleash his gentle hand and his power to cut off all that the enemy has stolen. I know too...he did all this by someone who was nailed to a tree for just that purpose!
( below is the stranger and the strangler fig)
Thankfully....it is spring....and a time of new beginings... a time to remember Passover and an empty tomb.... resurrection power and for me... well I have a birthday on April Fools Day coming up......
so YES, LOL I agree with the Apostle Paul...I will be a fool for Christ's sake and yes, I will again and again choose LIFE and Blessings....and be thankful that someone paid for me to inherit the blessings...
...I will also choose be thankful for His intervention and his "passover promises" .... how about you?
